Ball joint



Jam IY@ 1950 J, H, BOQTH 494,739`

BALL JOINT Filed 0013. 24, 1947 Patented Jan. 17 1950 BALL vJoIN'r James `Booth, @Coi-unna, Mich., assigner 'to ThompsoniBroductsgJnc., Cleveland, iOho, a

.corporationnf Ohio `6 Claims.

rlhis `invention relates to joints-accommodating relative `rotation and relative ltiltingimove- .-ment'of the parts on separate sets V"of wbearing `'.fsurfaces.

More particularly this `invention :relates to :joint construction nwherein the 'joint kmember ais rrotatably mounted on anti-frictionfbearings and Ttiltahly mounted on. other-f bearings.

The i ball -joint of :this invention A is i particularly Well adapted rfor use=at `the ifreeA end of the-:control `arms of :an :automotive `independent iront wheel suspension, asince it visfdesigned -to ipermit free rotation:and tilting of thefballrstudfinthe joint and to simultaneously ftransmit thrust `loads of `considerable magnitude through ithe joint. This ball ijoint of 'course is :alsoiadapted `for use tindrag links andtie-roduconnections- According to this invention i a `housing treceives sa stud having an end portion `comprising `two i oppositely` disposed segmental spherical"` surfaces.

`A thrust'collar or seatring-tting loose "inthe :housing seats in `self-aligning engagement non the `uppermost of the sphericaL-surfaces. 'The `lower 4spherical surface `of the 4stud 4is 4spring 'pressed upwardly so `that the thrust `collar 'is urged into Contact with a `roller :Thea-ring asfsembly `which in `turn 'is `held `against a .hardened thrust Washer -rnounted -in :the housing. Thus, the roller :bearing assembly, xuSing the thrust washer andithe eollarasupper and lower :races respectively, permits rfree `rotation Yof the ,-studand thrustcollar'in the ijoint. .Pivotingaof :this is permitted -by the engagement of f the upper spherical surface of the stud with `the .spherical socket portion offthethrust collar.

:A feature oi 'this invention is :the use of an "anti-friction `bearing to -transmit .thrust load .from the ball joint housing `to -a thrustcollar having a stud tiltably mounted therein s and iat the same .time .tmpermit free rotation of the stud and thrust collar inthe housing.

An object of `this `invention is to provide an improved joint construction having a universally movable Lnieniber mounted on Aan anti-fricf tion bearing assembly and tiltablelon a race of the anti-.frictionbearing A further object of this invention is to provide a ball joint structure which includes butlarelaftively "few parts `that are Veasily j assembled 'and `are heldin a manner `permitting-'free relative os- .fpable ."of rfunctioning :freely `-even `when `hearing heavy loads.

,-A speciiic-oliject'iol" this `.invention is to provide fafgsimpleand efficient ballnjoint structure espemiallywadaptedformuseinzautomobilesas Va con- .inection between i `certain. Coacting `parts thereof,

-such as ltierods, drag ilinks or 'in `joints lof :an

independent front wheel suspension.

A.still `further object'of thisfinvention is to il() :provide ra 'ball ijoint having anti-friction -bearings "wherein i the ibeaings= ride "on rraces :provided by 'thrust `transmitting members of 4the joint.

Other and further lobjects` and features i of this `cinvention A'will be :apparentxto `those skilled inv the waart ffrom the following :'detailed vdescription fof .theiannexedfsheets of ndrawings; which, -by way .of `preferred fexamplezonly illustrate'one embodilment .ofithe invention.

On the drawings:

:Figure :11i-is a vvertical 4central cross sectional wiew of va jjoint housing :having parts of bearing surfaces therein-according to-this invention, Aand fillustrating the pivoting stud i in elevation Figure 2 is a vertical central cross `sectional `25 -View i simil-a1' to ;that of Eig. 1, :showing the Yball 4,r stud in a; tilted i position;

Figure -3 is .a verticalfsectional view-showing the partsiof :thecball joint `of thisfinvention ein .an :exploded view.; and

Figure-.4 lista horizontal `.sectional View taken substantially on line IV-IV of Fig.:l.

In Figure 1 the reference numeral 'IIJ-desigmates generally fa control arm of an independ- `'ently suspended Wheelr'structure. The arm :I0 :le'has an invertedfendportion l l `cleiiningf a cavity 44.oriohamber A#handhaving"anopening I3 at the upper 'end thereof. Theloweriopenvend of the fchamoer 41:2 isclosed by a `plate t5 seated ina ifgroove 1:6 formed.within'the housing-walls. The

"$40 plate :l'is held in gpositionbypeening or'spinning the lower edges of the cupshaped endpor- .tion- |.l i.thereoveieasindicatedlat` l 8.

.YA vballv stud .20 projects through lthe opening ,lf3andvhasrathreadedftop1portion 2|, :an inter- +1965 mediate 'tapered iportioni-22, aicylindrical ,shank 3 which is disposed for free rotation in the housing l I. When the thrust collar and the stud are assembled in the ball joint, the stud is tiltable in the thrust collar due to the contact of the segmental spherical surfaces of the members.

Free rotation of the stud is provided by an anti-friction bearing assembly 3B which is positioned between the upper surface of the thrust collar 28 and a hardened thrust ring 33 which abuts against the upper inner surface of the housing and has a central aperture 33a in registry with the opening I3 in the housing.

The anti-friction bearing assembly 30 comprises a plurality of roller bearings 3l held in spaced radial relation by a retainer ring 32. As shown in Figure 4, the rollers are positioned in openings 32a of the retainer ring 32, which openings are slightly smaller in width than the diameter of the rollers to prevent the rollers from falling therethrough. Tab portions 32h, turned up from the retainer ring 32, are bent over the top of the rollers to hold them in place.

The various elements of this ball joint are held together in the chamber I2 by a spring washer 35 which is compressed between the closure plate l and a spring seat member 36 which has a socket portion 36a adapted to receive the spherical lower end of the stud 20.

In Fig. 3 the spring washer 35 is shown in an unloaded position, while Fig. 1 illustrates the depressed spring as assembled in the ball joint.

A grease tting 38 is arranged in the closure plate l 5 to afford means for greasing the joint.

From the foregoing description it is seen that there is provided by this invention a ball joint in which a stud is arranged to rotate freelyon antifriction bearings and to tilt relative to the housing of the joint in a spherical shaped socket member mounted in the housing.

In Fig. 2 is illustrated the ball joint 20 in a pivoted position. The relative movement of the spherical surface of the portion 24 of the stud and the socket portion of the thrust collar 28 is clearly shown.

It will of course, be understood that various details of construction may be varied through a wide range without departing from the principles of this invention and it is, therefore, not the purpose to limit the patentl granted hereon otherwise than necessitated by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A joint structure comprising a housing, a stud having an end portion disposed in said housing, a thrust ring disposed about said stud in pivoting relation therewith, a thrust plate disposed in said housing around said stud and a roller bearing assembly disposed between said thrust ring and said thrust plate, said stud being arranged to transmit a thrust load only to said housing.

2. A joint structure comprising a housing, a stud having an end portion with a segmental spherical bearing surface disposed in said housing, a thrust ring around said stud and pivotable on the spherical bearing surface of said stud, a cylindrical thrust plate disposed in said housing around said stud, and a plurality of roller bearing elements disposed between said thrust ring and said thrust plate, said thrust ring being disposed entirely below said roller elements to exertVV a thrust load only thereagainst.

3. A joint structure comprising a housing, a stud having an end portion comprising a pair of segmental spherical bearing surfaces, a thrust ring disposed about said stud in pivoting relation on one of said spherical surfaces, a thrust plate disposed in said housing around said stud, a roller bearing assembly disposed between said thrust ring and said thrust plate and means acting on the lower segmental spherical surface of said stud for urging said stud upwardly against said thrust ring and for positioning said roller bearing assembly and said thrust plate in operating position.

4. A joint structure comprising a housing having a cavity therein and an end wall with a central aperture, a stud with an end portion comprising a pair of segmental spherical bearing surfaces, the shank of said stud extending through the central aperture of said housing, a thrust collar disposed about said stud against the end wall of said housing, a thrust ring positioned in the cavity of said housing and having a central bearing surface in contact with one of said bearing surfaces of said stud, a plurality of roller bearings disposed between said thrust ring and said thrust collar and a spring washer acting on the lower end of said stud for urging said stud upwardly against said thrust ring and to position said roller bearings and said thrust collar in operating position, the entire thrust load on said stud being transmitted through said thrust collar tc the end wall of said housing.

5. A joint structure comprising a housing having a cylindrical cavity, a stud with an end portion having a segmental spherical bearing surface positioned in said cavity, a roller bearing assembly disposed between said stud and said housing and rotatable in races in a plane substantially perpendicular to the central longitudinal aXis of the joint, one of the races of said bearing assembly having an outer surface of substantially the same contour as that of the spherical bearing surface of said stud, said stud being associated 'therewith for pivoting away from the central longitudinal axis of the joint and the other of said races of said roller bearing having a cylindrical contour for closely contacting the walls of the cylindrical cavity of said housing.

6. A joint comprising a stud having a head, a seat ring receiving the stud therethrough and tiltably supporting said head, a housing loosely receiving said ring, and anti-friction thrust bearings between the ring and housing, a retainer ring for said bearings slidably guided by said housing to maintain the bearings in position, and a spring acting on said stud to urge the stud head into the ring, to urge the ring against the bearings and to urge the bearings into thrust relationvwith the housing.

JAMES H. BOOTH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date e 2,037,786 Huiferd Apr, 21, 1936 2,048,803 Marles July 28, 1936 

